5/25/17: We planned to stop at Lily Pond Harbor of Refuge before going into Houghton/Hancock. This is about 1 mile inland from the lake and about 7 miles from the town. After 7 hours of travel from Ontonagon, we just wanted a quick overnight location. After the hassle we had tying up, we both agree we should probably have just gone all the way to the marina.

Lily Pond Harbor of Refuge

This area is nothing but a long wall, used for the “big ships” to tie up to, although any vessel can utilize the refuge. The tie-ups themselves were huge bollards, located about 30 feet in from the wall, across a field of broken stone, tall weeds, and shrubs. Our regular lines wouldn’t reach; thank goodness we picked up two 50 footers just before we left. We couldn’t get the boat secured to our liking between the bollards, so we got a little creative and tied the stern to one of the many safety ladders along the wall. It took us about an hour for us to feel comfortable.

There really isn’t anything here, so we’re just lounging below, under blankets with the alcohol heater going. It was another long, cold, windy day, although the sun did make an appearance around noon after almost 2 weeks of overcast skies and rain. We look forward to a couple of days of R&R in Houghton/Hancock, hopefully with more sun and warmer weather (although the latest forecast is predicting rain on Friday. Again.)

Day #4

Shanti at the refuge

Huge bollards to tie to